weaving

Chapter 1377 Infantry Attack
"Stop shooting."

Lin Fangping decisively ordered: "The third row, prepare, the second row, load, and the first row, check the muskets."

After only two rounds of fierce musket fire, the hungry people rushing towards them could no longer bear it. All ten groups of hungry people started to riot at the same time. The hungry people walking in the front were frightened by the tragic scene around them...

Their mentality collapsed instantly, and they turned around and ran away crying, which triggered a battle royal among the entire group of hungry people. Everyone rushed to be the first, fearing that they would be left behind and massacred by the government troops.

No matter how the bandits following behind hacked and killed, it was of no avail and they were soon left at the back of the team.

…………

The King of Chuang, who was watching the battle, naturally saw all of this. He ordered expressionlessly, "Send a few cavalry teams up, and kill all those who escape."

"Yes."

As soon as the flags were waved, wide passages appeared in the formation. Teams of thirty or forty horsemen galloped out of the formation. They quickly surpassed the second group of hungry people and arrived in front of the hungry people who were fleeing back...

Like emotionless machines, the cavalry waved their sabers and axes, ruthlessly hacking and killing the hungry people who had fled back.

Although these hungry people had been completely frightened by the tragic sight of the musket fire, they chose to escape back despite the threat of the butcher's knife.

But when they were threatened by the cavalry, hacked with butcher knives, and their companions kept falling in pools of blood, they retreated again. After all, between possible death and immediate death, how to choose is not a very difficult decision!

Most of them no longer knew how to shout, nor were they able to do so. They just turned around reluctantly and mechanically rushed slowly towards the government troops.

…………

"General Lin, the hungry people have been forced back by the bandits again!"

Lin Fangping nodded after hearing the reminder from his personal soldier. He also saw it all, but to him, how much of a threat could the starving people who had already collapsed once pose?

"Attention, gunners! Put away your guns and retreat!"

After hearing this military order, not only was the messenger confused, but even Zhang Jintai, an officer in the Weiyuan Camp, was also confused: "General, withdraw... withdraw the troops... why? We... don't want to fight anymore?"

"Fight."

Lin Fangping smiled strangely and said, "The enemy is coming to kill us, how can we not fight?"

"That...this..."

Lin Fangping ignored him and shouted to the messenger beside him: "Why don't you pass the order?"

"Yes." The messenger was startled, and quickly took the order and turned away.

Lin Fangping then looked at Zhang Jintai with a serious face and said to him, "The bandits have taken over 300,000 or 400,000 hungry people. Even if less than half of them are here, there are still more than 100,000 people."

A trace of disdain flashed across his face at this moment, and he added: "Why waste too much ammunition on them. What do you think...?"

Zhang Jintai suddenly realized what was going on and said, "Send out the cavalry, kill them for a while, and force the hungry people to retreat."

"No!"

Lin Fangping interrupted him abruptly: "If the enemy cavalry doesn't move, we won't move either."

He turned around and looked at the hungry people who were slowly approaching, and shouted loudly: "Pass the order, infantry, advance to the front of the formation, and prepare for battle!" Upon hearing this military order, the Yongyi Army's formation immediately began to move...

First, the musketeers shrank their formation, leaving several ten-foot-wide passages, and retreated five steps. Then, teams of armored infantry were seen trotting quickly from behind the formation to the front.

Infantry squares were lined up in front of the shield wall. They were organized into small squares of a hundred people each. Although their numbers were not as large as those of the hungry people, they were all wearing armor and holding fine iron shields and steel knives, short axes, and hammers. One-third of them had spears and long axes sticking out of the formation. Their might was not comparable to that of the hungry people!

Zhang Jintai's blood boiled as he watched. His eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation as he shouted at Lin Fangping, "General..."

"Go." Lin Fangping uttered these two words without thinking.

Zhang Jintai was very excited after getting the permission. He snatched his tiger spear from the hand of the guard next to him and was about to step forward when he heard Lin Fangping say, "The tiger spear is too long and not good for foot combat. Let's change to the iron mace."

Without saying anything, Zhang Jintai handed the Tiger Spear back to his personal soldier, and then took his own iron mace, which he was very familiar with. He also turned around and smiled at Lin Fangping, saying, "General, you are right. I was so excited that I thought about using the Tiger Spear."

Before Lin Fangping could say anything, Zhang Jintai had already rushed out to the battle line, walked to the front of the infantry formation, raised the iron mace in his hand and waved it, and shouted: "Yongyi Army..."

The infantrymen in each square formation shouted loudly upon seeing this: "Mighty...mighty...mighty..."

Zhang Jintai waved the iron mace in his hand and looked back at the command flag on the high carriage.

Suddenly, the iron mace in his hand drew an arc and was retracted, and the shouts of the soldiers stopped abruptly.

"The enemy is within a hundred steps!" A loud shout came at this moment.

Then the flag was waved, and Zhang Jintai suddenly shouted: "Change the formation, three rows horizontally, two steps in front and back, the first row with shields, the second row with short shields, and the third row with long shields."

As his order was delivered, the infantry formation changed in an instant.

The first row is composed of shield soldiers holding swords and shields, the second row is holding short weapons such as swords, axes and hammers, and the third row is the infantry holding long weapons such as spears, long hammers and axes.

"Enemy, eighty steps."

The formation change had just been completed when the observer's call came again.

Zhang Jintai raised his iron mace with a solemn expression and shouted, "Tiger!"

"Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"

At this time, a "boom" sound of a cannon was heard, followed by the "dong dong dong" sound of war drums. The infantrymen in the formation all waited for military orders with solemn expressions.

The first person on the left side of each infantry team raised his flagpole diagonally forward, and the infantry teams shouted in unison: "Push! Push! Push!"

Everyone marched forward in unison, with determination. The shield formation of the Yongyi Army infantry was like a moving iron wall, pressing forward towards the formation of hungry people in front of them.

More than half of the Yongyi Army was equipped with firearms. Therefore, except for the Ye Bushu who were responsible for scouts and still used bows and crossbows, it was rare to see this long-range weapon for killing the enemy in other regular infantry and cavalry. Instead, they were replaced by various long and short muskets and cannons.

Zhang Jintai stood on the left side of the infantry formation in the middle. Next to him was the officer of the team. He had a steel knife hanging on his waist and held a flagpole in front of him. He strode forward...

Seeing that they were less than thirty steps away from the hungry people, the old thieves mixed in the opposite camp were already shooting cold arrows at this side.

However, the power of these arrows was naturally greatly reduced in front of the armored infantry of the Yongyi Army. Not only was the casualties almost zero, but they were not even a deterrent, let alone disrupting the formation.